The whirlygig. The holes always scale up and get plugged, so you have to soak it in vinegar about every 3-5 use, and the little stoppers on the ends always get lost. And, the manufacturer had the nerve to tell me to use mechanical pencil erasers when the stoppers got lost.

one of the worst has to be the CPBF with the auto pressure releas valve on it. A guarnteed face full evey time. I am the proud owne of one, bought from a fallen company of years gone by. Beer from trees.....imagineBellybuster Bob www.bellybuster.netfirms.com

My auto siphon also works like a charm and has for 5 years. When I first received it, I too was drawing air until I put on smaller diamater hose. In fact I think it may well qualify as one of my BEST gadgets.

I use my Auto Siphon all the time. works great. In fact I have 2 so I don't have to re-sanitize when transferring two 5 gallon batches. If you use a tight tube and flick it with your finger after you get the siphon going, you will get rid of the air bubble.

As for WORST gadget, I am surprised nobody has mentioned Mr. Beer...Give a man a beer and he'll waste an hour. Teach a man to brew and he'll waste a lifetime.

Also on my second auto siphon at first it leaked air around the plunger seal. So at someones suggestion I took it out and used my fingers to open up the seal diameter. It has worked fine since.. THe old onw got alot of crazing in the outer tube wall and then finally after severl years in took a sharp smack and broke near the outlet bend.. If it leaks near the hose outlet put on a hoseclamp. Worst thing I have are the 3 bottles of Iodine that the LHBS sold me when I was a newbie. one is a monster size what can I do with this stuff?Rip them lips!

and the doohicky that you put on the dial of your electric stoveto control temperature.

That would be the AutoMasher.

The fermentap is definately up there. I still use the carboy drainer I built for it though. Even if the carboy had the right slope the tiny drain for the yeast was a joke. I think I used mine twice. Glad it wasn't terribly expensive.

heya Mike...I've yet to see any bashing but yours. Ole Chumster just stated his opinion, of which he is surely entitled. I do believe you should justify your comment with some standing up for the stove top doohicky, the "treebrew" CPBF, and every other bad gadget that's been mentioned so far...stick up for'em all or stick up for none....

(Message edited by canman on October 03, 2006)Bellybuster Bob www.bellybuster.netfirms.com

He said "Duh", meaning he agrees with what Mike G said, it it that complicated?

FWIW, I think the wort wizard, while it is a very novel idea is a bad gadget, its just to much of a pain in the ass to hookup in my opinion. I gave my brother one for christmas 3 years ago, then he gave it back because he didn't want it, and I haven't used it at all.

When I listed the Phalse Bottom, I did not even think about it relating to Dan's business. I have never participated in any of the juvenile barbs tossed back and forth by the factions posting on this board. I bought the product. It didn't work well. Other's may have different opinions. Contrary to what Mike G. seems to think, I didn't bash anyone. I bashed a product. I didn't mention Dan nor did say anything bad about his other products (some of which I have used and found to work fine).

Hey Ken, I've got a big funnel just collecting dust too. It was definitly a two person job using that thing. Then, I bought a smaller funnel that actually fit the carboy but the screen was so small it clogged too easily.

Anyway, I plan on using it as the bottom of a hopper whenever I get my JSP mill motorized. If you cut off the bottom of a 5-gal bucket it will fit nicely in the top of the funnel. The bottom of the funnel can be trimmed to channel the grains down to the middle of the rollers. My exLHBS had a hopper design like this that worked really well.

I have to agree with Jeff Preston... a pH meter was one of the biggest wastes of money i've spent on gadgets... You need to calibrate it before each brew session and with mine, if I didn't remove the batteries between sessions, it would die and I had to replace the batteries... The ColorpHast pH strips work great....Damn Brewing's Fun!!!! Kölsch Krusader!

Wort wizard was a waste of $ for me too. It was too hard to incorporate into my system without it spraying back. Not to say it is a bad product, the venturi effect is a proven principle, but it isn't for everyone.

Zymico products weren't for me either. I had better luck rigging my own stuff from the local mega supply. In fact the products never worked as advertised until I came up with my own fixes. Before anyone gets their panties wadded up in their camel toe I will clarify that my problems were specific to items that were designed to hold back liquid at a bulkhead. Keep in mind that I worked for several years on aviation fuel tanks, I know a thing or two about keeping stuff from leaking. The products, as delivered, did not do the job as intended. I was later able to come up with solutions to make them work.

Sorry if I offended anyone's sensibilities. Just a bit sensitive, I guess. I didn't like where this thread was headed, it seems to be a common occurrence.

The contributors here have a wealth of knowledge and experience unmatched by other boards. However, I get a little tired of the schoolyard antics - would people talk in the same manner in person? I don't think different rules should apply for the internet. (end whine)

>>I guess. I didn't like where this thread was headed, it seems to be a common occurrence.

The common occurrence would seem to be the continual stream of nonsensical drivel by one certain poster. I just wish he would pack up and return to rec.crafts.brewing where he belongs. This board didn't have the "schoolyard antics" three years ago or so, until this turkey showed up.

Bill Pierce started a thread on why the B&V is getting slow. The continual taunts and blitherings of this one poster, would seem to be a significant factor for this.

Haven't been on here for a while but have a question? Regarding digital themometers, is it worth getting one? I have seen one for around £38.00 (not sure what that is in dollars), quite a bit too pay but I do want to upgrade from my mercury one.

$70 or so seems a lot for a thermometer. You should be able to find a dial thermometer for less. Just remember to pick one and use that one. Just like a man with two watches never knows what time it is, a man with two thermometers never knows what temperature it is.

I built a really cool automatic sparge level control that had no moving parts. It relied on a submerged vent tube that would break a vacuum on a sealed HTL when the level got below the tube. It worked great except that it really sucked in the walls of the HLT plastic bucket which threw the control off.

I got a used Fluke digital thermometer. I've had it about 6 months and it's built like a BSH (brick  house). I think it will last decades. Accurate too (according to my mercury lab thermometer). It comes with a standard thermocouple jack, and I have a 10" SS probe.

Yeah, I have to vent the stopper and return the bucket to it's normal shape a few times during transer. I'm on city water so there's a lot of pressure, it may also have something to do with the inline plate chiller.

Weasels are not rodents; they are mustelids. Other mustelids inlcude mink, polecats, wolverines, badgers and ferrets. Mustelids are more closely related to other carnivores such as dogs and cats than they are to rodents.

Add me to the list of the whirlygig being the stupidest piece of HB equipment I have purchased. One stuck mash w/a stout and a bunch of flaked barley and it went into the ziplock bag forever.- "What this calls for is a really futile and stupid move on somebody's part...and we're just the guys to do it."

In a short amount of time, I've seen what seems like dozens of threads like this -- and they all devolve into the same . just ca There must be something about the internet that keeps people from conversing and behaving like adults -- civility must not be that much fun.

* I'm 24, and if I treat people the way many of you do when I'm 50, I'll be ashamed of myself. *